Media releases

  • Entrepreneur to talk data collection with Brock students

    MEDIA RELEASE: 31 October 2017 – R00200

    Whether it’s market research into consumer behaviour or academic research into how humans react to various circumstances, collecting data effectively is an important piece of the puzzle. Adam Froman has long made innovative data collection his business.

    The founder and CEO of digital innovation company Delvinia will share insight into his business this week while speaking with Brock University students about how leaps in technology — from virtual reality to the ‘internet of things’ — have changed the game in the field of data collection.

    “With the prevalence of digital technologies and the ever-changing business landscape, organizations today are looking for new and innovative ways to gain consumer insights,” says Froman.

    “For an institution that’s engaging in research, it’s important to be aware of the disruptive technologies that are emerging and shaping the industry today, and to understand how to apply them within an academic setting.”

    Froman’s talk, taking place at Brock on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 10:30 a.m., is co-hosted by the University’s Department of Political Science and the Centre for Business Analytics in the Goodman School of Business. The lecture is the second in the Innovation Speaker Series organized by Political Science Assistant Professor Nicole Goodman.

    Goodman says Froman will get students and faculty thinking about how innovations in data collection may be applied in their own research to improve results and transform the traditional timeframe for collecting data.

    “We live in a rapidly changing and complex world where political problems and issues are increasingly multi-sectoral,” says Goodman. “Adequately understanding and interpreting these problems and issues requires new ways of thinking and, perhaps, new ways of collecting data and carrying out research.”

    Goodman and Froman have collaborated on several projects in the past, including the creation of the Centre for e-Democracy in 2014. The centre is a charitable organization dedicated to generating, translating and disseminating scholarly findings and knowledge about how digital technologies affect politics and democracy.

    Delvinia is also partnering with Brock University on a Mitacs-funded research fellowship to study brain drain, examining where Canadian STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) talent is going and why.

    “One of the biggest challenges facing tech companies is managing the talent pipeline and keeping great talent in Canada,” Froman says. “It is my hope that the research conducted through this Mitacs Accelerate fellowship will provide us with a better understanding of how to address this issue.”

    Froman’s lecture takes place at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Brock’s Plaza 600F.

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

    Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

    – 30 –

    Categories: Media releases

  • Brock University to host Fall Preview Day Sunday

    MEDIA RELEASE: 31 October 2017 – R00199

    Record attendance is anticipated Sunday for an event meant to showcase what being a Brock student is all about.

    Fall Preview Day — the University’s largest on-campus fall recruiting event — is expected to draw more than 4,000 prospective students and their families on Sunday, Nov. 5. The annual event is geared toward high school students, those looking to transfer from other post-secondary institutions and prospective graduate students, and aims to provide information about Brock’s programs, facilities and student services from residences to dining options.

    “It’s a great day for students to experience everything there is to know about Brock, to speak with faculty, staff and students from all of our programs and services,” said Kara Kelly, Manager, Recruitment Communications. “It’s a chance to have all of their questions answered in one day.”

    Guests will have the opportunity to attend subject-specific presentations, explore various labs, watch athletic demonstrations and participate in interactive activities.

    “It includes many ways to get hands-on experience and explore what it’s like to be a Brock student,” Kelly said.

    Fall Preview Day runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with Walker Sports Complex acting as the main hub for the event. Tours and experiential opportunities will run throughout the day, in addition to an information fair that begins at 1 p.m. in the Ian Beddis Gymnasium.

    Free parking will be available throughout the day.

    Tours of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines will also take place hourly beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday. For anyone wishing to explore the main campus while also visiting the downtown venue, a shuttle will be provided leaving the main campus at 1:30 p.m.

    More than 400 members of the Brock community, including faculty, staff and student volunteers, come together to host the popular recruitment event and engage prospective Badgers in various activities.

    Students can register for the event online or in person on Sunday. By registering for Fall Preview Day, students are automatically entered into a $10,000 draw that will support tuition and residence in fall 2018.

    For a full schedule of event times and locations, visit discover.brocku.ca/fallpreviewday/

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

    Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

    – 30 –

    Categories: Media releases